BEER TASTING NOTES

Punch Taverns - expects full year earnings to be marginally ahead of its previous expectations, as pub refurbishments and favourable summer weather brought in more customers. The group, which has more than 7,100 pubs in total, said like for like sales for the last 12 weeks were up 2.6% after improved trading particularly in the final quarter. (ADVFN)

SABMiller - has been involved in bid talks after a report that that the company is interested in buying Fosters, the Australian brewer of the eponymous fizzy yellow alcoholic beverage. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - is selling a portfolio of 333 non-core pubs for £373m in cash to a private equity firm so that it can focus on the informal eating out market.
All Bar One and O’ Neills owner M&B said the sale to Stonegate Pub Company Limited, run by TDR Capital, is part of its strategy, announced in March, to withdraw from the lower price, drinks-led market and late night high street bars and venues.
Today’s deal shrinks the firm’s portfolio to 1,580 restaurants and food-led pubs with higher growth potential, and provides money to spend on other growth opportunities in the informal eating out market, it added Friday. It also takes non-core disposals to £500m. (ADVFN)

InBev - Belgium-based brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev reported better than expected second quarter figures, helped by the football World Cup, good weather and strong beer sales in Brazil.(ADVFN)

SABMiller - the South African brewer is wanted on reports that it is discussing a settlement with the South African anti-trust regulator over an investigation into the brewer’s distribution practices. Solid results from rival brewer AB Inbev also had punters thirsting for SABMiller’s shares and those of Guinness brewer Diageo. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - pub and restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers is to sell the operations and leaseholds of its Hollywood Bowl business for £27m cash to AMF Bowling. M&B will also sell the remaining freehold property interests in four of the sites for at least £12m “in due course”.(ADVFN)

Marstons - good weather rather than the World Cup is credited for a recent uptick at pub group and brewer Marston’s. Like-for-like, Marston's Inns and Taverns, the managed pubs division, increased sales by 1.7% in the 43 weeks to end July. The tenanted business, Marston's Pub Company, saw like-for-like profits fall 4%, a slight improvement on the 4.5% decline reported in the results in May.(ADVFN)

08/10

Surrey Hills Brewery - they are still going to move to Denbies, Dorking in the Autumn. The old brewery will then be put up for sale.

W J King Brewery - has been sold to Nigel Lambe and Ian Burgess, currently the second brewer from Harvey’s of Lewes. Bill King has, apparently, being wishing to sell the brewery for some time.

Wheat prices have seen the biggest one-month jump in more than three decades on the back of a severe drought in Russia, prompting warnings by the food industry of rising prices for flour-related products such as bread and biscuits. Food executives are also warning about surging prices for feeding and malting barley, which could push higher the retail cost of products from poultry to beer. European wheat prices jumped 8 per cent on Monday to €211 a tonne, the highest in two years. Wheat prices have risen nearly 50% since late June, the FT reports.(ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - the World Cup was a mixed blessing for pub group Mitchells and Butlers, which saw like-for-like sales rise by 1.2% from the same period a year ago in the nine weeks to 17 July, but blamed the football for slower food sales growth. (ADVFN)

Tenanted pub group Enterprise Inns has continued to see an “improving trend” since the interim results on 11 May and predicts full-year results will match forecasts. Punch Taverns rose in sympathy.(ADVFN)

Enterprise Inns - Panmure Gordon expects the positive theme in the pub company reporting season so far to continue when Enterprise Inns updates the market, helped by the weather and the World Cup.

‘At its interim results Enterprise reported that average net income per pub across the whole estate was down 3% compared to the same period last year. We expect the group to report a similar level of net income per pub decline after 39 weeks,’ Panmure says.(ADVFN)

J D Wetherspoon - reported a 1% rise in like-for-like sales in the 11 weeks to July 11 and said it was confident of a resilient future performance despite economic worries. Wetherspoon, which has recently been moving away from its traditional role as a pub to compete with the likes of Starbucks by selling takeaway teas and coffees, saw overall sales climb by 5.8%. It has opened 41 pubs so far this year and disposed of two.(ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - said market conditions remain challenging given the relatively weak UK consumer environment, though trading during the World Cup has been good with like for like sales growth over this period.(ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - heavily indebted pubs group Punch Taverns is scheduled to give an update on trading in the first four months of the second half of the group’s fiscal year. KBC Peel Hunt is not expecting much in the way of positive news on trading and thinks there is a risk of downgrades.
“Tenanted LFL [like for like] profit has been declining by 11% for 18 months, and any improvement needs to be measured in conjunction with support costs. H1 [first half] managed [pubs estate] LFL sales were -3.4%, implying that Q2 [second quarter] was flat after Q1’s -1.6%, and we would xpect Q3 to be slightly negative, given the cold conditions in April and May,” the broker said.(ADVFN)

Diageo - the Guinness brewer and spirits distiller  has reached agreement with its pension fund trustees on a 10-year funding arrangement for the UK pension scheme. The arrangement includes the novel idea whereby a pension funding partnership will be formed (the PFP), which will hold maturing whisky spirit as assets, generating an income to the UK Scheme which is expected to total £25m each year over the term of the PFP.(ADVFN)

Greene King - saw profits rise for the year and said current year’s trading is ahead of expectations. Pre-tax profit rose to £101.9m from £54.3m on revenue that increased 3.1% to £984.1m, helped in particular by the 3.5% growth in its retail business.(ADVFN)

07/10

Travelodge - the head of the budget hotel chain has criticised a declaration by Whitbread, which owns the Premier Inn brand, that it might be interested in making a bid for its smaller rival, writes the Times.(ADVFN)

The Capital Pub Company - claims to have outperformed its peers with its full year results as London’s pub scene remained more buoyant than the rest of the UK. Revenue in the year to 27 March 2010 rose 11% to £22m from £19.8m the year before, while adjusted profit before tax climbed 32% to £2.7m.(ADVFN)

Whitbread -  Premier Inn owner Whitbread would be interested in snapping up rival low-budget hotel chain Travelodge were its owners to put it up for sale, newspaper reports suggest.(ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - announced the appointment of Tim Jones as new finance director of the pub group. Jones, who is currently holding the same position at services, maintenance and building group Interserve since 2003, will replace Jeremy Townsend.(ADVFN)

Whitbread - Premier Inn and Costa Coffee were the star performers for hotel and restaurant chain Whitbread as it posted a record 7.6% like for like sales rise. For the 13 weeks to 3 June 2010 total sales were up 13.5%. Premier Inn put in a strong performance with sales up 14.1% during the quarter and like for like rising 10.5%.(ADVFN)

Panmure Gordon has nudged up its price target from 614p to 620p for London based brewer and pubs group Fuller, Smith & Turner and upgraded its current year earnings estimates by around 2% after better than expected results last week.
The rating is shifted down to “hold” from “buy”, however, as the share price approaches Panmure's target.
“Fuller’s shares responded positively to the full-year results and with just 8% potential total shareholder return, we downgrade our recommendation to Hold. In the pub sector we prefer Punch Taverns (Buy, 113p PT [price target]), Mitchells & Butlers (Buy, 369p PT) and Wetherspoon (JD) (Buy, 594p PT) (ADVFN)

Fuller, Smith & Turner - results have, like a pint of the brewer’s London Pride, gone down well.
After a better than expected set of results from the brewer and pubs group owner Panmure Gordon has reiterated its “buy” recommendation and 614p price target.
“Fuller’s continues to offer a rare and compelling combination of earnings and dividend growth, is conservatively financed, and offers good forecast upgrade potential. Yet the group is trading on only a small EV/EBITDA [enterprise value/earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] premium to the peer group; we view this as anomalous,” the broker suggests.
KBC Peel Hunt says the company has “a very well operated South of England [pubs] estate” but says management is right to be cautious about the outlook for the consumer. Nevertheless, “as these results demonstrate, the group is well placed in what is likely to be a challenging market.”
KBC has upgraded its mid-range profit before tax forecast for fiscal 2011 by 3% to £27.1m and its earnings per share estimate is edged up to 34.1p from 33.1p, putting the share on a prospective price/earnings ratio of 16.
It rates the shares a “hold” and has a price target of 540p, slightly below the current share price. (ADVFN)

Fullers - pub group and brewer Fuller's is cheering even before the World Cup starts. The London-based group posted record profits last year as its managed pubs and hotels pushed forward with its brewing business also going well. Profits in the year to March jumped 86% to £26.8m, with underlying profits 17% ahead at £26.6m - well ahead of market forecasts. (ADVFN)

Greene King - the Bury St. Edmund’s based brewer and pubs group meanwhile has bought four freehold pub restaurants from cash constrained competitor Punch Taverns for £5.3m. The pubs which are located in “highly attractive, food-led, destination sites in Aberdeen, Northampton and Nottingham,” Greene King said. (ADVFN)

The new Government has said that supermarket prices will be curbed which may encourage people back to the pubs. They are planning to tackle alcohol-related crime and they have said that they are planning to keep 24 hour opening. Tesco have already said that they will co-operate.

Whitbread - responding to speculation in the week-end press, hotels and coffee shop group Whitbread has said it has no plans to raise funds through an equity issue. The Independent newspaper had run a story on Sunday which suggested that the Premier Inn and Costa Coffee owner is planning to raise £100m this summer through a private placement. (ADVFN)

06/10

Bass ale - once Britain’s bestselling beer, has fallen so far out of favour with drinkers that it has been put up for sale for only £10m to £15m. Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s biggest brewer, whose brands include Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s, is understood to be calling time on most of its British ale brands in a sale process that could also see Boddingtons, once dubbed the Cream of Manchester, and Flowers sold off, the Times reports. (ADVFN)

Enterprise Inns and Punch Taverns saw their share prices go more than a bit flat on fears that austerity measures to be imposed by the new government will hit consumer spending.(ADVFN)

Marston’s - reported a rise in first half profits and said it was confident of meeting expectations for the full year. Profit before taxation and exceptional items was £27.8m in the 26 weeks ended 3 April, 0.4% ahead of last year. Revenue also rose slightly to £309.2m from £307.5m last time. (ADVFN)

SABMiller - the South African brewer is also down despite reporting improved full-year figures with Latin America driving growth in the company’s profits. EBITDA increased to $4,381m in the 12 months to 31 March from $4,129m on revenue of $26,350m, up from $25,302m. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - posted a sharp recovery in underlying profits to £73m from £47m in the half year to March, as it fleshed out its plans to move away from drink-led outlets to food-based ones. Sales in the half-year to end April rose from £1.02bn to £1.04bn. Operating profits rose by 12% to £156m. (ADVFN)

Enterprise Inns is a stand-out riser after the pub group said it had agrees a £625m debt facility. The company, which leases out pubs to landlords rather than managing them centrally, has been struggling with difficult trading conditions in recent years, as was underlined by a fall in profits reported today. Fellow tenanted pub group Punch Taverns is higher in sympathy. (ADVFN)

J D Wetherspoon - is another company cautious about the consumer outlook after seeing a 0.8% dip in like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to April 25. That was sharper than the 0.2% fall in sales seen over the 39 weeks to 25 April. Total sales were up by 3.6% during the 13-week period, short of the 4% rise over the 39 weeks. (ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - unveiled Ian Dyson as its new chief executive officer. Dyson will leave his position as finance director of Marks & Spencer (M&S) presenting an early challenge for M&S’s new boss, Marc Bolland. (ADVFN)

05/10

Greene King - brewer and pub operator Greene King reported strong trading for the 49 weeks to April 11, with higher sales from its more food-orientated managed operations helping to offset weakness at leased pubs.(ADVFN)

J D Wetherspoon - a rising property market may be good news for the overall economy but it is a ‘risk’ for the budget pub chain JD Wetherspoon, according to the broker UBS.
However, the stock remains UBS’s top pick in the pub sector and the broker raises its target on Wetherspoon to 590p from 530p.
‘Given the risk of the property market recovering and of new entrants such as Mitchells & Butlers for leased pubs, we believe Wetherspoon will open 50 new pubs, this fiscal year and 55 next,’ the broker says.
‘Our five year forecast of 200 new sites remains below the company’s 250 target.’
Nevertheless, this is enough to prompt UBS to raise its target on the stock, which is in line with the shares’ historic average. (ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - Charles Stanley has retained its ‘trading buy’ stance on Punch Taverns after the pubs group’s interim results came in ahead of the broker’s expectations.
“Sentiment within the statement seems to imply a stabilisation of trading trends. Unsurprisingly the ‘Turnaround Division’ still has plenty more work required, but also offers performance enhancement potential,” Charles Stanley analyst James Dawson believes.
The broker thinks there is still room for growth in the managed estate, as trading in the first two weeks of the year was hit by the bad weather. There is plenty of work to be done on the tenanted/leased estate, however, but the broker notes that “encouragingly the number of pubs returned was at its lowest level for two years, further evidence of business stabilisation.”
The broker has a target of 125p for Punch.(ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - reported a slightly better than expected half year profit but warned that market conditions remain challenging. Pre-tax profits dropped to £66m in the 28 weeks ended 6 March compared with £82m last time, but the figure was still better than average expectations of £65m. (ADVFN)

SABMiller - Away from retail, lager firm SABMiller's financial performance for the year remains in line with expectations with organic lager volumes level with last year and full year soft drinks volumes up 2%. The group said consumer demand has affected by poor global economic conditions throughout the year although some of the emerging markets showed signs of recovery towards the end of the financial year.(ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - the pubs group has been working hard to lose the adjectival preface “cash strapped”, with a series of asset disposals, while at the same time attempting to stabilise its business performance.
It declares interim results on Thursday and Panmure Gordon is tipping the group will announce profit before tax of £64.5m, slightly below market consensus of £65m.
At the end of last month the company’s chief executive, Giles Thorley, announced his intention to step down after nine years at the company. (ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - Panmure Gordon has changed its mind about cash-strapped pubs group Punch Taverns and thinks the risk/reward profile is now attractive enough to warrant buying the shares.
Ahead of the company’s interim results due to be announced on 22 April the broker is forecasting half year profit before tax of £64.5m and earnings per share of 7.1p, putting its forecasts a shade below consensus of pre-tax profit of £65m.
“We believe that significant shareholder value can be created if the group can halt the LFL [like for like] sales decline and start to rebuild profitability. We believe the group could create c£250m of value if it can return profitability per pub to FY 2007A [actual fiscal 2007] levels,” Panmure Gordon said.
The broker has upped its price target from 71p to 100p and changed its rating on the shares from ‘sell’ to ‘buy’.(ADVFN)

Marston’s - Food sales from its managed pubs continued to lead growth at pub group and brewer Marston’s in the half year to April 3. The company remains on track to meet expectations for the full year. (ADVFN)

Enterprise Inns - said it was making ‘excellent progress’ in selling off its underperforming pubs. The group, which didn’t update the market with new profit or revenue figures, also said there has been no ‘material change’ in its performance since January.(ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - today announced that chief executive Giles Thorley is stepping down from his post and leaving the board after nine years at the pub group. (ADVFN)

The UK's "largest-ever" investigation into insider trading in the City of London centres on interlinked chains of individuals allegedly making as much as £20m from dealing in the shares of a number of companies, including Scottish & Newcastle. The alleged ring is suspected by the Financial Services Authority of making about £4.1m alone by trading in S&N shares during its £7.8bn takeover by rival brewers Heineken and Carlsberg in late 2007, according to people familiar with the investigation, the FT reports. ADVFN)

SABMiller - Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has raised its target for SABMiller, arguing that the South African brewer’s high emerging market exposure and low-risk beer category presence puts it in a sweet spot in the market.
‘As management continues to deliver against its growth plans, we believe recognition of the long term growth story’s merits will continue to provide support for the stock,’ according to RBS.
The bank’s stockbroking arm has raised its price target for SABMiller to 2000p from 1700p and has maintained its ‘hold’ rating. The stock trades on 15.4 times projected earnings for 2010, which RBS said is in line with the stock’s European peers and the ten-year average Price/earnings ratio. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - KBC Peel Hunt has raised a glass – and its share rating – to Mitchells & Butlers' strategic review, which the broker describes as a ‘turning point’ for the group.
‘This strategic decision is right to confirm the move to core food brands, to leverage MAB’s [Mitchells & Butlers’] core strengths despite the faint embarrassment of rubber-stamping the previous board’s view,’ KBC analyst Paul Hickman said, adding that he expects to be upgrading earnings estimates significantly as a result of this new strategic direction.
The pubs group will soon be expecting to be described as a restaurant group after announcing it is to focus on its main food brands: Harvester, Toby, Crown Carveries, Sizzling Pub, Premium Country Dining, and Vintage Inns.
‘Although this is an overall strategy statement, we assume annual capex [capital expenditure] towards these drive brands of £40m. Together with the first two years of cost actions, this would upgrade our FY2010E pre-tax to £155m and EPS to 27p, and FY2011E to £180m/31p, putting the shares on 10.7x falling to 9.4x,’ the broker said.
KBC Peel Hunt now rates the shares a ‘buy’, having switched its rating from ‘hold’. (ADVFN)

Diageo - the head of Britain’s biggest drinks group has launched a blistering attack on the Government’s duty regime ahead of Wednesday’s Budget, warning that further tax rises could threaten investment and jobs. Simon Litherland, UK managing director of Diageo, said that punitive duty increases imposed already had hit the sector hard and it would be “foolish to take any action which might prevent one of the country’s most successful industries playing its part in the recovery”, the Times reports. (ADVFN)

..............
Last Chance Saloon for Large Pub Companies to Reform
CAMRA Responds to Select Committee Report on Pub Companies
 
 
CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, has welcomed today’s Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee Report on Pub Companies which demands major reform in the way the Large Pub Companies operate and threatens statutory intervention if these reforms are not implemented voluntarily by June 2011. The Committee also urges the Office of Fair Trading to look more carefully at the issues involved as it responds to CAMRA’s super-complaint for the second time.
 
In addition to today’s Select Committee Report the Liberal Democrats have indicated that they will pursue radical reform of the Beer Tie in the next Parliament, including a free of tie option and a guest beer right.

Mike Benner, CAMRA Chief Executive, said: 

‘The Large Pub Companies are now in the last chance saloon. The pub sector has had long enough to deliver self regulation and failed. They either voluntarily reform to ensure a fair deal for consumers or risk potentially punitive intervention from the Competition Authorities and Government.
 
‘CAMRA is demanding that the Large Pub Companies act immediately to allow their licensees the option of selling one guest real ale purchased at free market prices. Given the popularity of locally brewed real ale it is simply crazy that most pub licensees are prevented from buying beer from their local brewers. The Large Pub Companies should also agree to a legally binding code of conduct and move quickly towards offering all their lessees a free of tie option at a fair rent.
 
‘Over half of the UK’s pub licensees are prevented from buying beer on the open market at freely negotiated prices and the Large Pub Companies are exploiting this to charge licensees between 40% - 45% more than free market prices. These artificially inflated prices are passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices, reduced investment in pubs and pub closures.’
(CAMRA)
..........

J D Wetherspoon - reinstated its dividend as the pub group reported half year sales and profits at record levels. Pre-tax profit in the 26 weeks ended 24 January was £36.2m, an increase of 17.5% on a pre-exceptional basis (2009: £30.8m) and a jump of 41.4% (2009: £25.6m) after exceptional items. (ADVFN)

Whitbread - Andy Harrison, chief executive officer (CEO) of easyJet, should inherit a company in robust shape when he takes over as CEO of restaurants and hotels group Whitbread in late November.
Charles Stanley approves of the appointment and thinks his ‘experience of yield management and international markets will be useful for Whitbread.’
The broker has left its earnings forecasts unchanged following Whitbread’s trading update on Thursday ‘although we believe forecast risk remains on the upside.’ Nevertheless, the broker rates the shares as no more than a ‘hold’ at this price but would be inclined to add shares if the price weakens.
KBC Peel Hunt is more bullish. ‘Positive momentum in Q4 [fourth quarter] was no surprise and we expect this to continue through 2010, despite the tough backdrop. After significant outperformance there may be a pause for breath in the short-term but Whitbread remains a core investment in the sector,’ according to KBC analyst Nick Batram. (ADVFN)

Whitbread - reaction to numbers from leisure group Whitbread was more positive as it posted continuing double-digit sales growth at its coffee shop chain Costa and a move into like-for-like (LFL) sales growth at its hotel chain Premier Inn. (ADVFN)

Diageo has sought to take advantage of the continued march of the Chinese consumer by launching an offer worth up to £610m for a local white spirit venture in the Asian country. The drinks giant said the full offer for the company, which is not expected until the second half of 2010, would give it a springboard to expand its share of one of the fastest-growing spirits markets in the world. It already owns a 39.7% stake in the company, Shui Jing Fang, through a holding company called Quanxing, the Telegraph reports. (ADVFN)

03/10

Drinks brands giant Daigeo has kissed and made up with brewing colossus SABMiller in their dispute over Diageo’s move to acquire a stake in Tanzania's Serengeti Breweries. (ADVFN)

Dutch brewer Heineken gained after it saw sales rise in value terms in 2009, but volumes were down and the company said tough economic conditions would continue to force consumers to drink less and cheaper beer in 2010.
Net profit for 2009 was up by 4.1% to €1.1bn as sales climbed by 2.7% to €14.7bn, but volumes slipped by 0.5% to 125.2mhl (million hectolitres).
‘Strong pricing delivered stable revenues that compensated for lower volumes,’ said chairman Jean-Francois van Boxmeer. ‘Once again, the Heineken brand outperformed the total portfolio, proving its strategic value to our business.’
Heineken's results come on the same day Danish brewer Carlsberg reported higher profits for 2009 as sales rose in volume terms but fell in value due to currency fluctuations.
'While we expect consumer dynamics to be challenging in 2010, we also see many opportunities to strengthen our position in key markets,' chief executive Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen said. (ADVFN)

Diageo, the world's biggest spirits maker, is focusing its marketing efforts on wooing British drinkers to spend their money in supermarkets rather than at the pub, as the recession continues to squeeze discretionary spending. As the downturn has accelerated the trend for drinking at home, the company is strengthening its relationships with the UK's biggest retailers to try and increase its share of a market where growth is sluggish, the Telegraph reports. (ADVFN)

Fuller Smith & Turner - broker Charles Stanley has upgraded its 2010 and 2011 profit forecasts for Fuller, Smith & Turner after the London based brewer and pubs group released a ‘confident’ interim management statement.
‘We are upgrading our FY10 and FY11 forecasts by £0.6m and £0.4m respectively to reflect the continuing strength in the LfL [like for like] sales performance even through Q3,’ said Charles Stanley analyst James Dawson.
The broker has retained its ‘add’ recommendation and left its price target unchanged at 600p.
Panmure Gordon is also raising a glass to the London Pride brewer, and has lifted its price target to 614p from 585p.
The broker has also boosted its 2010 and 2011 profit forecasts. ‘We have increased our FY 2010E [2010 estimated] PBT [profit before tax] by 5.5% to £25.8m (32.4p EPS [earnings per share]) and our FY 2011E [2011 estimated] PBT by 5.5% to £27.1m (EPS 34.0p),’ Panmure analyst Simon French said.
Panmure Gordon rates the shares a ‘buy’, saying the company deserves to trade on a small premium to rivals Greene King and Marston’s. (ADVFN)


The British Beer & Pub Association - warned the Government that it is set to lose more than £250m in tax revenues this year, if the current rate of pub closures continues, reports the Independent. (ADVFN)

02/10

Whitbread - Footsie gave up a recent weak spell to finish the week with good gains. Whitbread was the star performer. Following an investor day yesterday, Barclays Capital raised its price target on the Costa Coffee and Premier Inn owner to 1,700p from 1,600p. The broker thinks Whitbread will benefit from new Costa openings and from existing sites finding their feet. (ADVFN)

Marston’s - said trading over the 16 week period to 23 January has been encouraging notwithstanding the poor weather in January. The group said the more positive trading momentum it reported last month continued over the important Christmas and New Year festive period. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - the racing tycoons JP McManus and John Magnier have waded into the fight at Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) by calling for those responsible for the £500m of hedging losses to be pursued for the money. Elpida, the duo’s investment vehicle, has written to the board of the pub company before tomorrow’s annual meeting confirming that it will vote its 17.6% holding “to achieve a new independent board”, thereby aligning itself with Joe Lewis, the billionaire trader at the centre of the spat, the Times reports. (ADVFN)

Greene King's trading over the last nine weeks has remained 'relatively strong' despite the freezing weather, with food sales going well and Scottish arm Belhaven again doing a star.
Stockbroker Charles Stanley said third quarter revenue rose 5.2% from the same period a year earlier after seeing a solid performance in all three of its divisions. For the three months to 31 December 2009 revenue rose to £28.4m from £27.0m the same quarter a year earlier. (ADVFN)

Enterprise Inns - the pubs group said recent trade has been variable, though Christmas business was strong. The group said there are signs that trade in what it termed its ‘better quality pubs’ is continuing to stabilise. Across the whole estate the year on year decline in average net income per pub eased to around 4% in the 16 weeks to 16 January, from around 8% during the last financial year.(ADVFN)

J D Wetherspoon - Britain's recent cold snap hit sales at pubs group JD Wetherspoon as customers stayed in the comfort of their home. Sales at pubs open for more than a year fell by 0.3% in the 12 weeks to 17 January, with the last two weeks being affected by adverse weather conditions, the group said. (ADVFN)

SABMiller - the share price of SABMiller was going down faster than a bottle of the brewer’s Peroni on a hot summer’s day. SABMiller saw lager volumes dip slightly in the first nine months of its current year with the US in particular under pressure. (ADVFN).

SABMiller and property group Land Securities are among the fallers.
Peroni and Grolsh brewer SABMiller saw lager volumes dip slightly in the first nine months of its current year with the US in particular under pressure. (ADVFN)

Magners - Christmas brought a little bit of cheer for Magners cider group C&C, with December sales recovering after a weak November and profits to end-February still expected to come in at the top end of guidance. (ADVFN)

SABMiller - Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse joined in raising a glass to SABMiller, ahead of a third quarter trading update next Tuesday from the world’s second biggest brewer. (ADVFN)

Fuller Smith & Turner - the London brewer and pubs owner has turned to Cashbox to operate the 35 cashpoint machines in its existing estate, with the possibility of the brewer adding further automatic teller machines (ATMs) throughout its near 400-strong pub chain. (ADVFN)

Brokers UBS and Nomura Securities are of differing views over the prospects of brewing giant SABMiller with the former a fan and the latter turning lukewarm on the stock.
UBS has reiterated its ‘buy’ recommendation for the lager brewer, claiming that the company is at an inflexion point as economic growth in emerging markets offers scope for volume growth.
UBS reckons that even after losing out to Heineken in the battle for FEMSA Cerveza, SABMiller offers a ‘strong organic story’ and has raised its price target from 1900p to 2000p.
Nomura cites the ‘missed opportunity’ on FEMSA as well as the recent strong run by the shares as reasons for downgrading the stock to ‘reduce’ from ‘neutral’.
The broker believes that with Heineken snapping up FEMSA, SABMiller’s chances of establishing a strong presence across the Americas have been removed. Now, far from closing the size gap with number one brewer by volume Anheuser Busch InBev (ABI), SABMiller has seen the gap between itself and smaller rival Heineken diminished.
‘We see little scope for positive surprises in the short-term - we estimate Q3 [third quarter] volumes to be reported next week down 1% in line with H1 [first half],’ Nomura predicts.
The broker’s price target has been trimmed from 1800p to 1730p. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - Joe Lewis, the Bahamas-based billionaire who owns 23% of Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), has rejected a last-ditch compromise proposal put forward by M&B aimed at averting a showdown at the pub company’s annual meeting at the end of this month. The M&B board, which claims Mr Lewis is trying to seize control of the company, is understood to have been willing to accede to his demand for the election of the four non-executive directors put forward by his Piedmont investment vehicle, the Times reports. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - In the FTSE 250, pub group Mitchells and Butlers was fizzing after it said trading in the new financial year remained strong, thanks to sales growth across the main brands, but said it is still cautious on the outlook for consumer spending. Punch and JD Wetherspoon are up in sympathy. (ADVFN)

01/10

The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) vowed yesterday to launch a legal challenge to the decision by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to reject its so-called super-complaint over anti-competitive practices by the big tenanted pub companies. The organisation said that the OFT’s decision was detrimental to the interests of pub-goers and the future of Britain’s pubs and it called on consumers to help to fund an appeal “to ensure this vital legal challenge can stand the best chance of success”, the Times reports. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - shareholders in Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) have been urged not to lend their holdings in the pub operator before a showdown vote on the election of four directors put forward by rebel investors. In what is thought to be an unprecedented joint statement, two leading shareholder bodies also called on their members to reclaim any M&B stock out on loan to hedge funds and other traders as soon as is practically possible, the Times reports. (ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - another disappointing trading update from Punch Taverns has prompted Panmure Gordon to lower its target on the tenanted pub group to 71p from 87p.
The broker notes that in the larger leased division, beer sales and rental income are continuing to decline, with profitability showing a similar rate of decline for the full year.
In the managed estate, in which pubs are run by Punch rather than leased to landlords, sales in the 16 weeks to 12 December are down 1.6%, it notes.
The lower price target comes on the back of a 10% reduction in Panmure’s estimates for Punch’s profits for 2010.
Panmure has a ‘sell’ rating on Punch.  (ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - cautioned the challenging economic environment will affect profitability in the short-term and also put pressure on one of its debt measures. (ADVFN)

Whitbread - Costa Coffee owner Whitbread has offered to buy Eastern European coffee shop operator CoffeeHeaven for about £36m. The recommended offer of 24 pence in cash represents a premium of around 25%. (ADVFN)

Whitbread - the hotel pub and coffee shop group expects results for the current year will 'somewhat exceed the top end of market estimates' as sales rallied in the third quarter. Revenues moved forward again in the three months to end November, with total sales up 6.7% and like for like sales rising by 0.3%. In the 39 weeks of the year to date, total sales are up 4.3% and like for like sales down 1.7%.
Hotel and coffee chain group Whitbread is set to issue a third quarter trading update on Monday, and once again the performance of the company’s Costa Coffee chain is expected to be a highlight.
The company is so enamoured of the coffee business that it is looking to expand in eastern Europe by means of a possible offer for AIM-listed Coffeeheaven. (ADVFN)

Premier Inn - things have also been looking up at its hard pressed budget hotel chain Premier Inn. Although like for like sales were down 7.5% year on year in the six months to 27 August, the company’s management spoke of an improving trend. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - Joe Lewis, the flamboyant billionaire investor, is threatening to take legal action against Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) in an attempt to force the pub and restaurant operator to reinstate the two representatives of his Piedmont investment vehicle who were ousted last week from the company’s board. Piedmont, which has a 23% stake in M&B, will launch its fight back today against accusations by the All Bar One operator that it has been secretly trying to gain control of the company, the Times reports. (ADVFN)

Troubled pubs group Pubs’n’Bars has asked for trading in its shares to be suspended while it sorts out its financial position. Market makers have taken the view that this is not a good sign for similarly stretched sector peers such as Punch Taverns. (ADVFN)

Marstons - pub group and brewer Marston’s posted a sharp fall in profits in the year to 3 October, but these were ahead of previous expectations and the company said the improving trend of the second half has continued in recent weeks. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - the pub and restaurant operator, launched a fresh assault on rebel shareholders yesterday by effectively sacking the four non-executive directors appointed at the behest of the dissidents. The unprecedented move came a day after the Toby Carvery and All Bar One operator reported Joe Lewis, the Bahamas-based billionaire, and the horseracing tycoons JP McManus and John Magnier to the Takeover Panel, accusing them of banding together to try to seize control of both the board and the company, the Times reports. (ADVFN)

Magners cider maker C&C has had a tough time of it since rivals muscled in on its ‘cider over ice’ market, but Citigroup thinks the acquisition of The Gaymer Cider Company for £45m could prove a winner.
Citi has crunched some numbers and reckons the deal could be earnings enhancing to the tune of 3-5% by fiscal 2012/13.
‘This deal is strategically sound in our view. It gives C&C: (1) further scale in GB [Great Britain]; (2) a broader cider portfolio with which to complete with Heineken and (3) a sales force and presence in the off trade,’ Citi analyst Liz Hartley opines.
The broker has reiterated its ‘buy’ recommendation and €2.95 target. ‘While the group's medium-term focus will now be on integration (ABI and Gaymer assets), we believe C&C is now a more tangible competitor to market leader Heineken,’ Hartley concluded. (ADVFN)

Shares in pub group and brewer Greene King fizzed as it shrugged off the worst of the downturn over the last six months with sales and underlying profits rising modestly thanks to a strong performance from its Scottish arm Belhaven. Revenue to 18 October rose by 4.3% to £464.5m. Operating profit was 3.3% lower than last year at £103.3m, but underlying profits rose by 2.8% at £62.4m. Fellow brewing and pub group Marstons rises in sympathy.
Sticking with the pub groups, hopes of an end to board room shenanigans at Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) have sent the shares soaring. The pub group axed a director and appointed its senior independent director as the new chairman. Richard McGuire, appointed by the investment vehicle of billionaire Joe Lewis’s Piedmont Inc, has been asked to step down. M&B also intends to get rid of non-exec directors Denis Jackson, Ray MacSharry and Douglas McMahon.
Irn Bru maker AG Barr warned that economic conditions continue to be challenging but said it is trading in line with expectations and remains confident of delivering its plans for the full year. Revenue for the quarter ended 31 October increased by 21.4% compared to the same period last year. Like for like sales increased by 10.8%. (ADVFN)

12/09

Magners maker C&C has agreed to buy the UK cider assets of Constellation Brands (CB), The Gaymer Cider Company for £45m in cash. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - the board of pub group Mitchells and Butlers has approached the Takeover Panel to rule whether a group of shareholders has been trying to gain control of the board after they blocked three potential candidates for chairman. Reports over the weekend suggested that one of those candidates was Archie Norman, the former head of Asda and recently appointed chairman of ITV. (ADVFN)

Pub groups are doing well led by Punch Taverns, which has gained nearly 15%. Enterprise Inns and Mitchells and Butlers are also higher. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - full year results from cash strapped pubs group Mitchells & Butlers have rnot been enough to provoke KBC Peel Hunt or Panmure Gordon into revising their neutral positions on the stock.
Panmure Gordon expects profit before tax estimates for the current financial year to move up to around £139m from the current consensus of £134m, ‘driven by a slight increase in EBIT [earnings before interest and tax] to c£300m and an interest charge of £161m based on the group’s guidance of a 6.2% average cost of debt.’
KBC Peel Hunt, however, has said it will be leaving its forecast unchanged at £135m.
Both brokers rate the stock no more than a ‘hold’. KBC has a target of 270p while Panmure has a 12-month price target of 295p. (ADVFN)

Mitchell & Butlers - fake Irish pubs operator Mitchells & Butlers said back in late September that full year results would be slightly above market expectations prevailing at the time, so Thursday’s announcement may be slightly anti-climactic.
The O’Neill’s and All Bar One owner said same outlet like-for-like sales growth in the first 51 weeks of its fiscal year was 1.6% year-on-year, while total retail sales were up by 3.4% on a year earlier.
Focus will be on the outlook for next year, when the company will have to cope with rising unemployment and the return of the VAT rate to 17.5%. (ADVFN)

Fuller, Smith & Turner - pre-tax profits at London Pride brewer Fuller, Smith & Turner were higher than KBC Peel Hunt had expected, prompting the broker to upgrade the pub chain owner to ‘buy’.
‘Fullers is making the most of its Punch acquisitions as well as its excellent beer branding,’ KBC Peel Hunt analyst Paul Hickman opined. The company has made a number of acquisitions from cash-strapped pubs group Punch Taverns this year.
Following the release of Fuller’s interim figures the broker is revising its full year earnings forecasts upwards by 3%, giving a predicted profit before tax figure of £24.5m and an earnings per share estimate of 31p.
Even on the revised estimates Fuller’s trades on a price/earnings ratio of 15.7, which the broker notes is high for the sector, but with the company’s focus on London – an ‘increasingly strong environment,’ in the broker’s view – and the probability of sterling’s weakness continuing to attract tourists to the nation’s capital, KBC reckons the share price could rise as high as 540p over the next 12 months. Previously it had a price target of 510p. (ADVFN)

SABMiller - the brewer reported a 1% fall in lager volumes over the six months to September 30 as growth in Africa and Asia was offset by weakness in more developed markets. (ADVFN)

Enterprise Inns - the tenanted pub group posted a sharp fall in profits after a difficult year for the pub trade and said it expected profits to continue declining in the short-term. Pre-tax profits for the year to September 30 fell to £208m from £263m on revenues that dropped to £811m from £880m. (ADVFN)

J D Wetherspoon - Cut price food and booze pubs group J D Wetherspoon reported a 0.3% rise in like-for-like sales in the first quarter and said it remains confident of the company's prospects for the full year.
J D Wetherspoon - Charles Stanley has reiterated its ‘buy’ recommendation for J D Wetherspoon after the pub group’s trading statement.
The broker has previously suggested that the only possible cloud on the Wetherspoon horizon has been the group’s refinancing, targeted for the first quarter of 2010, but Charles Stanley analyst James Dawson is encouraged by the group’s assertion that it intends to start formal refinancing discussions by the end of the year.
The broker has a 600p price target for the stock.
Investec has also issued a ‘buy’ note on the company, saying that the ‘planned VAT increase remains the biggest negative risk for Wetherspoon (and other pub operators) but is unlikely to prevent future upgrades.’
Collins Stewart is a dissenting voice, noting that the LFL sales growth figure of 0.3% ‘suggests negative territory later during the [company's] first quarter, since the first five weeks started 1.2% up.’
The broker believes underlying trading is soft ‘which is likely to manifest itself in increasingly weak like for likes from the second quarter onwards.’
Collins Stewart has reiterated its sell recommendation and 400p price target. (ADVFN)

11/09

The decision by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) not to investigate the beer tie which forces pub tenants to buy their beer from their landlords has prompted a surge in the share prices of the pub groups, and this presents a good opportunity to reduce exposure to cash-strapped Enterprise Inns, Charles Stanley reckons.
‘The greatest beneficiaries of this announcement are those pubcos with the most significant tenant/leased estates, specifically Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns,’ said Charles Stanley analyst James Dawson.
Panmure Gordon agrees with this analysis, listing Enterprise and then Punch at the top of a list of pub groups ranked in order of percentage of group earnings from leased and tenanted earnings. Marstons, Greene King and Fuller, Smith & Turner were ranked third, fourth and fifth in the list.
Charles Stanley remains a buyer of Punch Taverns stock, ‘whilst acknowledging the operational issues that the company must still address.’
It remains a seller of Enterprise Inns, however, and recommends ‘investors should take the opportunity in this stronger market given its above sector multiple rating,’
The OFT’s decision has also failed to persuade Panmure Gordon to change its ‘sell’ recommendation for Enterprise.
The broker warned investors that the government has yet to respond to the Business and Enterprise Committee (BEC) report from May on the pub companies. This report ‘recommended that the Secretary of State refer the matter to the Competition Commission for urgent investigation by a body which has no vested interest in defending its earlier position.’
‘The BEC subsequently asked the Government to await the outcome of the mediation talks between the industry and lessees and tenants, which were inconclusive and any OFT review, which we have now had. Hence any relief may be short-lived,’ analyst Simon French reckons.
Panmure Gordon has a price target of 70p for Enterprise.
Pub groups are the star performers as they celebrate a victory over pressure group the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) after the Office of Fair Trading found no evidence to support CAMRA’s assertion that the beer tie arrangement inflates the price of a pint of beer by around 50p.
Enterprise Inns and Punch Taverns are the major beneficiaries of the verdict, while the likes of Greene King and Marstons, both of which are less dependent on their pub estates because of their brewing interests, advance less briskly. (ADVFN)

SABMiller - price rises helped the brewing giant post results in line with expectations in the six months to September 30 despite sales of lager falling by 1% in volume terms as consumers remained cautious across its markets. (ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - continues to divide opinions in the investment analyst community.
Broker Panmure Gordon, which is bearish on the stock, calculated the group’s net asset value per share at 260p after Punch announced a £667m write-down in the value of its pub assets this morning. Of the 260p, goodwill accounts for 78p per share, Panmure Gordon reckons.
The broker said full year results were broadly in line with its expectations though the Leased estate performed slightly better than expected, while the Managed estate underperformed a tad.
‘With the response of the OFT [Office of Fair Trading] to CAMRA’s [Campaign for Real Ale] super-complaint regarding the beer tie due by the end of next week, we retain our Sell recommendation,’ Panmure Gordon said.
Charles Stanley, however, sees the stock as a ‘trading buy’, postulating that with stabilisation in the pub estate appearing to take hold and with the disposal programme bringing down debt swiftly ‘this may mark a genuine turning point for group operations.’
As well as upgrading the stock from ‘hold’, the broker has upped its price target from 115p to 160p.
‘Given the severity of the profitability declines experienced across FY09 [full year to 22 August 2009] and the degree of stabilisation now being demonstrated, we argue that this impairment charge should mark the worst of this cycle,’ analyst James Dawson said. (ADVFN)

Punch Taverns -  slumped into an annual loss of over £400m as it took a £663m charge for write-downs on the value of its pub estate. Even before the write-down, underlying profits for the year to 22 August fell from £262m to £160m on revenues down from £1.56bn to £1.44bn. After one-offs there was a loss of £405m against a loss of £80m. (ADVFN)

Whitbread - Interim results have generally been well received by the market with the improving trend at the company’s Premier Inn hotel business being the most positive aspect. (ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - is lower on weekend reports it will take a £600m write-off on its pub estate with its results this week, which will also be poor according to the stories. Enterprise Inns and Mitchells & Butlers are down in sympathy. (ADVFN)

What might loosely be termed ‘the night out’ sector is well represented in next week’s results with pub group Punch Taverns and hotels, pub restaurants and coffee bars group Whitbread both making announcements.
Heavily indebted pub group Punch Taverns said back in August that trading results continue to reflect the challenging market conditions being faced across the sector, but that it was on track to meet management’s expectations for the financial year.
The market’s expectation for the full year is for profit before tax of £162.3m, up from a loss of £80.2m the year before, on sales of £1.44bn, down from £1.56bn a year earlier.
The group is to put a number of its unwanted pubs under the hammer at auctioneer Christie & Co. It is not the first time it has gone down the auction route but it does suggest that it has been unable to get the prices it is seeking for these pubs so the results may contain a write down of the value of its pub estate. At the half-year stage the group shifted the valuation of its estate down by £130m to £6.2bn.
Punch - broker Panmure Gordon notes Punch also has £556m (87p per share) of goodwill on the balance sheet, £88m of which relates to the Managed estate from the acquisitions of Spirit and Mill House Inns. ‘We think there is a risk that the group’s NAV [net asset value] per share undershoots the market’s expectations,’ the broker said.
Whitbread’s US peer Marriott Hotels posted better than expected third quarter figures on Thursday prompting buying interest in Whitbread’s shares on Friday, adding to the share price strength seen since early September when the company said profits this year would be at the higher end of market forecasts. (ADVFN)

Premier Inn - the budget hotel chain had been expected in some quarters to benefit from the trading down phenomenon during the recession but has seen mid-market operators move down into its price bracket. Premier Inns' like for like sales in the 24 weeks to 13 August were down 7.7%, slightly better than the previous three months. Revenue per available room at (9.4%) has improved from the first quarter run rate, the company added. (ADVFN)

Whitbread was a strong performer ahead of its trading update next week. The hotels and coffee bars group has been buoyed by better than expected results from US rival Marriott Hotels announced yesterday. Barclays Capital has adjusted its rating on Whitbread and now recommends its clients be overweight in the stock; the broker’s previous recommendation was for an underweight position.
Better than expected results from US rival Marriott and a ratings upgrade from Barclays Capital gave a boost to hotels and coffee bar group Whitbread Friday morning.
BarCap has upgraded the stock from ‘underweight’ to ‘overweight’ ahead of Whitbread’s interim results on October 13.
‘We believe that the previously set FY [full year] pre-tax profit guidance is likely to prove conservative and we expect consensus forecasts to be revised upwards again [after the results are announced],’ BarCap said.
Ahead of next week’s trading update from real ale brewer and pub landlord Marston’s, broker Panmure Gordon has turned less bearish on the stock.
Panmure Gordon now rates the shares a ‘hold’, up from ‘sell’, having adjusted its earnings forecasts in the wake of the brewer’s recent rights issue.
While ‘not convinced that the new managed pub developments will deliver historical levels of returns,’ the broker said it is ‘prepared to give management the benefit of the doubt at this stage.’
Marston’s raised £176m through a right issue earlier this year and has earmarked most of it to build new food-led destination pubs as part of its so-called ‘F-Plan’ to serve food to families, females, forty-somethings and fifty-somethings.
Pubs of this kind have achieved strong returns for Marston’s, averaging 15% earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation return on invested capital in recent years.
‘Whilst the new build managed pub programme will improve the profit mix, at present the group still derives greater than 50% of earnings from leased and tenanted pubs and as such we are cautious ahead of the OFT’s [Office of Fair Trading’s] response to the CAMRA super-complaint regarding the ‘Beer tie’, due by 22nd October,’ Panmure analyst Simon French said.
The broker has trimmed its price target to 100p from 125p previously. (ADVFN)

SABMiller - was wanted on rumours that it has been in bid talks with Mexican brewer Femsa, although Dutch brewer Heineken is also said to be in the running to win control of the brewer of Sol and Dos Equis lagers.
Femsa, - one of the largest beverage companies in Latin America, is in talks to merge its beer operations with a larger rival in a deal that could be valued as high as $9bn and would continue a wave of global brewing consolidation, people familiar with the matter said.
Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB, as Femsa is formally called, has held discussions with beverage companies including SABMiller and Heineken, the people said, the Wall St Journal reports.(ADVFN)

10/09

Enterprise Inns - has seen the number of tenanted pubs facing closure reduce slightly and demand lessen for its tenant support scheme, though the trading environment still remains very tough. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - expects earnings for the current year to be slightly above current market estimates thanks to its improved sales performance. The group saw same outlet like-for-like sales growth of 2.6% in the 10 weeks to 19 September. In the 51 weeks, like-for-like sales growth was 1.6% and total retail sales were up by 3.4%. (ADVFN)

Swiss bank UBS has called time on a gaggle of big pub groups, claiming the share prices have risen too far on a heady cocktail of improving consumer sentiment, England’s qualification for the World Cup and changes to the rules on pub gaming machine stakes and prizes.
UBS reckons the share prices of Enterprise Inns, Greene King, Marstons and Mitchells & Butlers are set for that morning after feeling unless the economy’s recovery is ‘v-shaped’.
In the post-smoking ban environment UBS thinks that even if the economy does stage a full recovery, the margins on leased and tenanted pubs will probably not return to historic highs.
Cut price operator JD Wetherspoon is UBS’s preferred pick in the sector but even these shares only rate a ‘hold’ rating. (ADVFN)

While others are issuing securities for cash, indebted pub group Punch Taverns is buying back some of its convertible bonds. It has repurchased 10.1% of the original nominal value of the 5.00% convertible bonds due 2010 for cancellation, leaving £73.32m (27% of the original nomination value) of the bonds in circulation.
In a generally weak pub group sector, Punch’s shares are trading lower but faring better than Enterprise Inns, Greene King and Mitchells & Butlers, all of which are on Swiss bank UBS’s sell list, as is Marstons. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - issues a trading statement on Thursday covering the six weeks since 11 July. Like for like sales in the eight weeks preceding 11 July were up 1.7% on a year earlier and that sort of growth could have been sustained since then if the performance of rival pub groups is any sort of benchmark, though a slackening of the rate would not be a surprise if the group has been trying to repair its margins. (ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - has bought back another tranche of convertible debt due for redemption next year, reducing the amount outstanding to just over £100m. The pub owner has bought a total of 33.9% of the original nominal value of the 5% convertible bonds due 2010. The bonds will be cancelled. (ADVFN)

Enterprise - Rumours of a rights issue at Enterprise Inns refuse to go away, with Seymour Pierce the latest to suggest the cash strapped pubs group will have to bite the bullet and issue shares for cash.
The broker thinks a rights issue would be a good thing, however, at least in the long term.
‘The Enterprise balance sheet remains stretched. Most significantly the £1bn senior debt facility, up for renewal in May 2011, creates a doubt,’ believes investment analyst Hugh-Guy Lorriman.
The broker believes the company’s chances of survival are better now that it has sold 277 pubs for a gross consideration of £84m, and has raised its target to 100p from 65p, though it retains its ‘sell’ recommendation. (ADVFN)

J D Wetherspoon - is mulling a complete refinancing, possibly including a rights issue to clear its debts after it posted record underlying figures last year. Profits before tax before exceptional items in the year to July rose 13.6% to £66.2m (2008: £58.2m), at the high end of forecasts. (ADVFN)

'We would expect beer consolidation to continue as medium-size groups around the world look to widen their footprint (e.g. Kirin, Asahi) and as some of the larger operators seek to improve their country weightings (e.g. Heineken, SABMiller),’ Nomura said in a research note on the sector.
‘For Diageo with its relative low leverage, there are still buying opportunities in spirits, such as Moet-Hennessy, possibly the Jim Beam brand out of Fortune Brands or the Jose Cuervo tequila brand, but only if the seller's idea of valuation comes down,’ Nomura suggests.
Nomura also speculates that SABMiller could be smarting from losing its position as biggest brewer in the world, slipping to a distant second behind Anheuser-Busch InBev.
‘We believe the market could warm to an emerging market deal (such as Femsa or Anadolu Efes if family shareholders were to agree) but could be sceptical about a mature market deal such as Fosters or Molson-Coors,’ Nomura said.
Keeping with the brewing theme, Greene King is worth holding for the dividend yield but no longer worth buying for short-term share price appreciation, reckons broker KBC Peel Hunt.
KBC has downgraded the stock from ‘buy’ to hold’ while retaining its price target of 470p. It is trimming its full-year earnings estimates for Greene King by 6% to reflect the one percentage points reduction in managed margin announced by the brewer ‘and continued average declines in tenancy combined with caution on the economic climate in H2 and strong comparatives.’
Broker Charles Stanley remains a buyer of the stock, however, on the grounds that with £207.5m of rights issue funds about to swell its coffers, the group will have the wherewithal to cherry pick pubs from the estates of distressed competitors while still reducing debt. ‘That said, the group continues to report encouraging trading indications from the managed houses, but the emphasis of now is on improving life amongst the poor quality tenancies,’ Charles Stanley analyst James Dawson believes.
The broker has a price target of 525.3p, adjusted for the bonus element of the rights issue ‘and so at present does not incorporate any additional pub buys’. (ADVFN)

Whitbread - the leisure group  powered forward after it forecast profits this year will be at the higher end of forecasts. The rate of sales decline at hotel chain Premier Inns steadied in the three months to 13 August, while coffee chain Costa continued to push ahead. (ADVFN)

09/09

Diageo - A 4% drop in full-year profit at Diageo was pretty much in line with expectations, but the alcoholic drinks giant has cut current year growth targets. The group, responsible for the Smirnoff, Captain Morgan and Guinness brands, said pre-tax profit fell £78m to £2.015bn in the year ended 30 June on reported sales up 15% to £12.28bn. Net sales rose to £9.31bn from £8.09bn. (ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - In the mid-cap index Punch Taverns is up for the second day in a row after Shore Capital reinitiated the pub group as a ‘buy’ after yesterday’s trading update. Fellow pub landlord Enterprise Inns is also higher, as is pubs owner and brewer Marston’s. (ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - KBC Peel Hunt rates the shares a ‘sell’ and has a target of 301p. Punch Taverns is reducing debt faster than expected, according to broker KBC Peel Hunt.
‘Disposals for the year are in excess of £400m, well ahead of our expectations. As a consequence net debt has been reduced by more than £1bn. Management expects the payment conditions to be met for the Punch A and B securitisations, allowing further cash to be upstreamed to the plc,’ KBC analyst Paul Hickman noted.
‘While we do not underestimate the challenges presented by the financial leverage within the business, from a trading and cash perspective Punch appears to be beyond the worst,’ Hickman suggested.
Progress on the debt front is likely to be well received and attract investors to the stock. KBC rates the shares a ‘buy’ and has a target of 170p. (ADVFN)

Punch Taverns -  is confident of its longer term prospects and expectations for the full year remain unchanged, but it remains cautious over the near-term due to the lack of forward visibility on trading outlook. (ADVFN)

Diageo - Drinks company Diageo, best known for its Guinness brand, releases full-year results on Thursday, and investors will be looking to see whether the weakening trend in sales reported at the nine-month stage has continued. Charles Stanley expects organic sales to be 0.3% lower year-on-year. (ADVFN)

SABMiller - the brewer and drinks firm Diageo are both firmer after the companies were instructed to take their dispute over East African Breweries Limited (EABL) to arbitration. The London High Court prevented EABL – 50% owned by Diageo – from terminating a partnership with SABMiller, and sent the dispute to the International Chamber of Commerce arbitration panel. (ADVFN)

Enterprise Inns - one of the UK's largest pub landlords, is in danger of breaching debt covenants as the rental value of its estate slumps. In a note to clients analysts at Goldman Sachs have warned that the falling values pose 'a threat to the group's financial structure', the Telegraph reports. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers -  has confirmed the appointment of Adam Fowle as chief executive with immediate effect after two months doing the job in an acting capacity. Fowle has been on the M&B board since October 2007 when he was appointed Managing Director for Restaurants. (ADVFN)

08/09

Marstons - Just over 91% of shareholders at Marston’s backed the brewer and pub owner’s £176m fully underwritten 11 for 10 cash call at 59p. The firm has been criticised for earmarking the money to finance expansion rather than reduce its £1.2bn debt pile. (ADVFN)

British Beer & Pub Association - the rate of pub closures is accelerating, with 52 going out of business every week at a cost of 24,000 jobs over the past year, figures show. Almost 2,400 pubs and bars have vanished from villages and towns in the past 12 months, according to research for the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA). Local pubs serving small communities have been the worst hit, the association said, reports the Times. (ADVFN)

Fuller's - the London-based pub company is another hot weather beneficiary with sales boosted by the sun in the 16 weeks to 18 July 2009. Like-for-like sales in its managed pubs and hotels increased by 2.9% in the period, though tenanted like for like profits were down 1%. The Fuller's Beer Company's own brewed beer volumes grew by 2%. (ADVFN)

Enterprise Inns - broker KBC Peel Hunt remains a seller of the pub company but deems Mitchells & Butlers as worth holding, after the two pub groups made trading statements on Thursday morning.
KBC said that although trading has stabilised at Enterprise, and disposals were “ahead of our expectations at £84m”, support costs have risen slightly and “there are no grounds for upgrades.”
The company’s measures to help struggling tenants may keep the Competition Commission off its back but the broker things “the shares are unlikely to progress until new bank facilities are in place, and meanwhile they remain fully priced.”
KBC has a price target of 120p for the stock.
Mitchells & Butlers - debt remains an issue at All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers as well. “While delivering good trading performance, M&B is constrained by debt and management changes, and is likely to lose acquisition opportunities to others,” KBC analyst Paul Hickman predicts.
On the bright side, the appointment to the board of a representative of Bermuda-based billionaire Joe Lewis “may increase focus [on asset sales] and bring closer the less ambitious aim of restoring the dividend.”
“Working under an interim CEO and having lost the prospect of an acquisition of Spirit, we do not see an early prospect of rerating. We maintain our 255p target based on a peer average of 9x EBITDA,” KBC concludes. (ADVFN)

J D Wetherspoon - Charles Stanley said outlook has turned “far more positive”, with management confident of achieving market expectations for the current financial year, which the broker takes to mean it will hit the top end of the forecast range for pre-tax profit, which spans from £53m to £64.2m. Charles Stanley is forecasting profit before tax of £63.2m. (ADVFN)

J D Wetherspoon -  said like-for-like sales in the 50 weeks to July increased 1.2% and that it is “optimistic” about prospects for the new year. In the period to period to 12 July, overall sales rose 5.2% thanks to an encouraging sales performance from both its existing pubs and new openings. Q4 lfl sales fell 0.8% and total sales 3.1%. (ADVFN)

Parliament's Business and Enterprise Committee - the industry has given less of a warm welcome to the proposals by Parliament's Business and Enterprise Committee, which has recommended that the Competition Commission look into the tied arrangements that govern over half of Britain’s pubs. Enterprise Inns' management has already spoken out against the proposals, but this week's trading statements - especially if they contain details of yet more aid given by the pub groups to tenants - will offer an opportunity for another vigorous defence of the tied-house model. (ADVFN)

Enterprise Inns - as well as trading, investors will focus on debt reduction at Enterprise Inns while attention at Mitchells & Butlers will be on the new chief executive officer, Adam Fowle, who gets his first chance to publicly outline his strategy for the company. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - is prepared to head off a potential rebellion by offering its two largest shareholders board representation. Drummond Hall, M&B chairman, is understood to be in talks with Joe Lewis, the Bahamas-based billionaire, and Elpida, the investment vehicle for Irish horseracing tycoons JP McManus and John Magnier, over the appointment of a representative from each camp as non-executive director, the FT reports. (ADVFN)

07/09

Pubs 'n' Bars - pub operator,  reported a pre-tax loss after a 'particularly challenging trading period' and omitted a dividend payment for the year. (ADVFN)

Capital Pub - London pub operator. posted higher revenues and adjusted profits and said trading remained healthy as Londoners continued slaking their thirsts despite the recession. (ADVFN)

Greene King - the acquisitive brewing and pub group will have been enjoying the sparkling summer weather Britain has been enjoying in June. The company has been opportunistically buying up pubs from its cash strapped rivals and buying back its own bonds at below par prices since raising £207.5m through a rights issue in April. (ADVFN)

J D Wetherspoon - Morgan Stanley sees the pub group as a “long term winner” in the pub sector and reckons the slide in the company’s share price since mid-April offers the opportunity to get a round of shares in at a good price.
“With the shares off 18% in the last three months, we think the refinancing risks are well reflected in the price,” Morgan Stanley states, after upgrading its rating on the stock from “underweight” to “overweight”. The US bank’s target for the cut price food and ale purveyor has been lifted to 480p from 440p. The target, if achieved, would comfortably beat the stock’s 52-week high.
"Its market share gains are accelerating, and we expect it to continue to generate 2-3% (like-for-like) sales growth in the medium term, enough to drive consistent double-digit EPS growth," the US bank said. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - among second-liners M & B surged on reports that Joe Lewis, the Bahamas based billionaire who dropped a bundle on a punt on Bear Stearns last year, has increased his stake in the cash strapped pub group. (ADVFN)

Marston’s - the real ale brewer dropped after announcing a fully underwritten 11 for 10 rights issue to raise gross proceeds of approximately £176m. The group also said like-for-like sales in Marston's Inns and Taverns were up 1.1 % in the 16 weeks to 6 June 2009 and pre-tax profit before exceptionals for the year to October is expected to be not less than £69m. (ADVFN)

Whitbread - Recession bit hard into  latest quarter with sales at Premier Inns tumbling as businessmen stopped travelling. Like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to 28 May fell by 2.7% as Premier struggled. Total sales rose by 2.5%. (ADVFN)

Admiral Taverns - reports at the weekend that Lloyds Banking will lose an estimated £450m on the pub giant, have also upset the pub groups. (ADVFN)

Marston's, Enterprise Inns and JD Wetherspoon - were weak in sympathy. (ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - is to raise approximately £350m through a placing and open offer and intends to make a tender offer to purchase any or all of its outstanding convertible bonds. The group also said today that trading results to date reflect the challenging market conditions being faced by the sector. (ADVFN)

Punch Taverns - has further rationalised its pub portfolio with the disposal of 11 outlets to rival Greene King for £30.4m cash. The pubs to be sold are freehold outlets located in central London, the south east of England and Scotland. The consideration will be satisfied in cash. (ADVFN)

Greene King - with more than £200m in its coffers after a rights issue in April, the brewer and pub operator is in a good position to start snapping up pubs from rivals, according to UBS.
The broker, which has a ‘buy’ rating on Greene King, raised its price target to 480p from 470p. (ADVFN)

Fuller Smith & Turner - Underlying profits were, unlike its beer, flat, but this represents a strong performance in the current environment, and one that was slightly ahead of market expectations.
Profit before tax, excluding exceptional items, eased 1% to £22.8m from £23m the year before, ahead of the £21.4m predicted by broker Charles Stanley and also ‘comfortably ahead’ of the figure predicted by KBC Peel Hunt. (ADVFN)

06/09

Greene King - has received 93.2% acceptances for its rights issue to raise approximately £207.5m (ADVFN)

Marston's - reported a 21% drop in half-year pre-tax profit but said it is encouraged by the modest improvement in trading since mid-February. Profit before tax and exceptional items fell to £27.7m in the 26 weeks ended 4 April, in line with expectations, compared with £35m last time. (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - may rank low on the financial management side, Blue Oar still rates it as a pub operator. ‘As regards trading, and trading is, ultimately, what it's all about, M&B is outperforming its competitors and is taking share. Operationally it is a winner and we continue to support the shares.’ (ADVFN)

Mitchells & Butlers - has parted company with chief executive Tim Clarke after reporting a 48% slump in half year pre-tax profit. Profit before tax and exceptional items for the 28 weeks ended 11 April tumbled to £44m from £84m a year ago on revenue up nearly 3% to £1.02bn. (ADVFN)

SAB Miller - the brewing giant posted a fall in pre-tax profits in the year to March 31 as beer drinkers began to feel the effects of the global financial crisis towards the end of the period. Pre-tax profit slipped to $2.96bn from $3.26bn even as higher pricing in some markets helped lift revenue to $25.3bn from $23.8bn. (ADVFN)

Beer Ties - a Parliamentary report calling for the reform of the business model adopted by pub companies has sent the sector into a tailspin.
‘Previous reviews have concluded the beer tie delivers advantages and that if the wet rent [revenue from tied sales] fell, pubcos could legitimately recover lost revenue through an increase in ordinary rent. If (big if) there were to be a review it could come to a different conclusion this time: the wet rent could be seen as an unfair way of sustaining overall rental income which would otherwise be in decline,’ says Nigel Parson at Evolution Securities.
Parson was bearish on Punch Taverns (sell) and Enterprise Inns (reduce) prior to the publication of the report and believes the uncertainty caused by the investigation will weigh on shares in the sector until it is resolved.
An independent survey commissioned by the MPs found that almost two-thirds of lessees did not think pubcos added any value.
Blue Oar Securities analyst Mark Brumby makes the case, however, that even if the Competition Commission does launch an investigation, it does not necessarily follow that it will recommend that the tied-house system be abandoned.
‘Even if the tie were outlawed, dry rents would presumably rise such that the incomes of both lessee and property owner were broadly unchanged. Indeed, because dry rents do not vary with turnover and wet rent does, the lessees could find themselves taking on extra risk,’ Brumby notes. (ADVFN)

Pub groups -  are also taking a beating on the parliamentary report calling for a referral of the tied system to the Competition Commission. Punch has been quick to reject the demand saying it is not necessary. Enterprise Inns is also down heavily.
A shake-up of Britain’s ailing pub industry could be on the cards after a parliamentary inquiry concluded that a reform of the “pubco” business model was needed. In a report of its findings, the Commons Business and Enterprise Committee, said it was calling on the Competition Commission to look into the “tied” arrangement that binds half of Britain’s pubs, the FT reports. (ADVFN)      more

Enterprise Inns - has called time on its dividend as it seeks to pay down its debt pile. The company announced an interim pre-tax profit of £103m, in line with market expectations but down from £132m a year earlier. (ADVFN)

05/09

Punch Taverns - Write-downs of £147m on its pub portfolio pushed the company into a hefty interim loss, with the pub group still "very cautious" on trading going forward.

Beer Sales -  in supermarkets and off-licences in the first quarter fell at their fastest rate since the recession of the early 1990s and were nearly double the rate of decline in pubs, as consumers cut back on supping their favourite tipple in their living-rooms. The British Beer & Pub Association said that off-trade beer sales tumbled by 11% in the first quarter of 2009, reports the Independent.

Whitbread -  comfortably beat the market's profit forecasts last year but cautioned trading has softened at its Premier Inn chain, which hit fourth quarter sales. Pre-tax profits for the year to February came in at £199m, up from £135m and on an underlying basis rose 9.3% to £230m against forecasts of about £220m.

Whitbread - predicted full year adjusted profit before tax of £222.9m. Dividend payment of 37.8p.

Greene King - announced an underwritten rights issue to raise approximately £207.5m. The group, which also confirmed full-year profit guidance in line with market expectations, said the three for five rights will be priced at 270p per share with 80.7m shares issued.

SABMiller -  reported a 1% drop in lager volumes in the fourth quarter as economic conditions deteriorated and consumer demand fell in most of its markets. Expectations were for a 1% rise.

Marston’s -  said trading has seen a modest improvement since the end of January and over Easter was “satisfactory”.The managed pubs division saw a 1.8% dip in like-for-like (LFL) sales in the 27 weeks and two days to 13 April, but in the final 58 days of that period the division saw LFL growth of 3.1%, with cask ales and the company’s value for money food offerings proving popular.

Globe Pub Company (managed by S & N Pub Enterprises) - the struggling operator owned by Robert Tchenguiz, is facing an uncertain future after the company defaulted on a £257m asset-backed loan. The default comes after the company, which owns more than 400 pubs, failed to remedy a breach of its banking covenants last month. As a result, bondholders can now seek the appointment of an administrative receiver to run the business, FT.

04/09

ABInBev - an EU court has upheld a ruling that the company cannot register the name Budweiser as a trade mark in the EU. Budvar of the Czech Republic had opposed the move.

Shepherd Neame - half year results to 27th December show turnover up 7.2% to £56.2m but pre-tax profits of £3.6m. The Kent brewer has 367 pubs of which 47 are managed.

Ireland - beer consumption dropped 5% in the Irish Republic last year. Estimated 1500 pubs have closed in the last 6 years.

Fuller, Smith & Turner - has increased its portfolio in London with the purchase of six freehold pubs from Punch Taverns for the sum of £21.1m.

J D Wetherspoon - the group says for the six months ended 25 January, profit before tax and exceptional items rose 2% to £30.8m.

03/09

Enterprise Inns - purported to be putting up beer prices by 30p / pint.

02/09

Fuller Smith & Turner - said sales since November grew 4.5% but warned it expects to experience ongoing rises in food and energy costs.
Fullers said in the 10 weeks from Nov. 16, 2008 to Jan. 24 sales grew 4.5%, while sales at pubs open more than a year increased 2.7% in the year to date.